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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless vs JBL Live 660NC

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Beats Solo3 2019
JBL Live 660NC

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated May 31, 2024 04:37 PM

SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 29, 2025 07:31 PM

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Amazon.com
Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Picture
JBL Live 660NC Picture

Variants

  • Solo3 2019 Wireless ((PRODUCT)RED Citrus Red)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Club Navy)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Club Red)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Club White)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Club Yellow)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Gold)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Matte Black)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Rose Gold)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Satin Gold)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Satin Silver)
  • Solo3 2019 Wireless (Silver)
  • Live 660NC (Black)
  • Live 660NC (Blue)
  • Live 660NC (White)

Our Verdict

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless

JBL Live 660NC

The JBL Live 660NC and the Beats Solo3 2019 are both middle-of-the-road headphones that neither excel nor fail at any given task. The JBL sound better for most music with some bass emphasis, but not so much as to sound overly muddy. They fit over-ears and have a shorter battery life, which is expected from active noise cancelling (ANC) headphones. The ANC cuts out more low-pitched noise as well. As on-ear headphones, the Beats are more portable and use passive isolation only, so you'll still hear the rumble of a bus engine. They have the W1 chip for improved connectivity to Apple devices, and they're more bassy to listen on.

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(PRODUCT)RED Citrus Red
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Black
Live 660NC
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Club Navy
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Club Red
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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White
Live 660NC
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Club White
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Club Yellow
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Matte Black
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Rose Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Satin Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Satin Silver
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Silver
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.2
7.7

Bass Accuracy 
 

6.3
8.5

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.9
9.2

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.7
7.6

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Design Picture 2
JBL Live 660NC Design Picture 2

Type  

On-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.0
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Comfort Picture
JBL Live 660NC Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.47 lbs
0.58 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
0.9 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.5
7.7

Controls Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Controls Picture
JBL Live 660NC Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Decent
Good

Feedback  

Decent
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

No
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

6.6

Breathability After Picture  

JBL Live 660NC Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.5 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

6.5
6.1

Portability Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Portability Picture
JBL Live 660NC Portability Picture

 

4.1" (10.4 cm)
6.9" (17.5 cm)

 

6.0" (15.2 cm)
6.7" (17.0 cm)

 

2.6" (6.6 cm)
2.0" (5.1 cm)

Volume  

63.50 in³ (1,040.57 cm³)
93.00 in³ (1,523.99 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

7.5
5.5

Case Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Case Picture
JBL Live 660NC Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
Pouch

 

4.5" (11.4 cm)
N/A

 

6.1" (15.5 cm)
N/A

 

2.6" (6.6 cm)
N/A

Volume  

69.10 in³ (1,132.34 cm³)
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Build Quality Picture
JBL Live 660NC Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Stability Picture
JBL Live 660NC Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Angled Picture
JBL Live 660NC Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Side Picture
JBL Live 660NC Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Front Picture
JBL Live 660NC Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Rear Picture
JBL Live 660NC Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Top Picture
JBL Live 660NC Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless In The Box Picture
JBL Live 660NC In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

3.55 dB
1.86 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-3 dB
-1.24 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.5
7.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.49 dB
0.54 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

6.3
8.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

6.1 dB
2.17 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

4.58 dB
2.16 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

6.25 dB
2.53 dB

High-Bass 
 

8.47 dB
-1.35 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.9
9.2

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.83 dB
1.01 dB

Low-Mid 
 

3.34 dB
0.01 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-2.35 dB
-0.61 dB

High-Mid 
 

0 dB
-0.77 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.7
7.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.98 dB
3.54 dB

Low-Treble 
 

0.64 dB
-1.86 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-0.23 dB
-1.45 dB

High-Treble 
 

-8.71 dB
-4.81 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.1
7.6

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.88 dB
1.59 dB

Dips 
 

1.44 dB
1.14 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.4
8.1

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.16
0.79

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

5.13
3.36

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.26
0.34

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.8
2.35
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

4.4
3.8

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

3.1 dB
4.03 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

1.29 dB
3.37 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

5.19 dB
3.64 dB

Openness 
 

5.2
2.8

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

4.2
2.7
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
JBL Live 660NC Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
No

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.4
7.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.163
0.266

WHD @ 100 
 

0.059
0.132
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

7.8.8
v3.4.0

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 5.0

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
Off

ANC 
 

No ANC
On

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

4.2
7.0

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-11.63 dB
-18.56 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
Yes

Bass 
 

-0.16 dB
-10.28 dB

Mid 
 

-7.97 dB
-17.78 dB

Treble 
 

-27.36 dB
-28.32 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

6.3
7.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

43.4 dB
35.99 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

6.8
6.8

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

182.21 Hz
364.41 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.39 dB
2.68 dB

HFE 
 

3,319.91 Hz
3,948.06 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

2.001
0.128

Gain 
 

6.2 dB
1.61 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

5.6
6.1

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

12.83 dB
8.22 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.0
6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

5.0
5.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.4
8.7

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

38.2 hrs
25.9 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

38.2 hrs
25.9 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.4 hrs
1.8 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB
USB-C
Show Text 

App Support 
 

5.0
8.0

App Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless App Picture
JBL Live 660NC App Picture

App Name  

Beats
JBL Headphones

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
Parametric + Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
On/Off

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

7.1
8.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2 + W1 chip
5.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

313.00 ft (95.40 m)
335.00 ft (102.11 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

173 ms
211 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

81 ms
164 ms

Android Latency 
 

120 ms
204 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

0.0
9.5

Cable Picture  

Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless Cable Picture
JBL Live 660NC Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
Yes

Length  

N/A
4.10 ft (1.25 m)

Connection 
 

No Wired Option
1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

N/A
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not Included)
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only (Not included)
Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Check Price

(PRODUCT)RED Citrus Red
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Black
Live 660NC
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Club Navy
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Club Red
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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White
Live 660NC
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Club White
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Club Yellow
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Matte Black
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Rose Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Satin Gold
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Satin Silver
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Silver
Solo3 2019 Wireless
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Beats Solo3 2019 Wireless

JBL Live 660NC

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  1. Comparison

Beats Solo3 2019 vs JBL Live 660NC: Main Discussion

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